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Kelly Ripa, alongside her husband Mark Consuelos, shared the liberating perks of empty nester life on the Monday, May 26, 2025, episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.
During a heartfelt conversation with guest Amanda Peet, Ripa reassured the actress that life after children leave for college brings unexpected joys.
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Peet, mother to Frances, 18, Henry, 10, and Molly, 14, expressed anxiety about her eldest daughter moving “very far away” to the “opposite coast” for college this fall.
“I don’t wanna cry,” Peet admitted when discussing Frances’s upcoming departure.
Ripa, drawing from her own experience, responded, “Let me just say this. The first one is like a bit of a shock. Each one, like the second one, is like, no big deal. Third one, for 24 to 48 hours, you’re gonna be like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have we done now? Now it’s just us.’”
The All My Children alum, 54, humorously noted, “And then your entire life becomes nudity in the household wherever you want,” prompting a smile from Consuelos.
Peet, caught off guard, replied, “Wow, good to know!” to Ripa’s candid revelation.
Ripa quipped, “Total freak show all the time,” embracing the lighthearted chaos of their empty nest.
Ripa and Consuelos, married since 1996, are parents to Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 22.
Their youngest, Joaquin, graduated from the University of Michigan earlier in May 2025, marking the couple’s official transition to empty nesters.
“Anyway, we just returned from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where our newborn baby graduated university. That’s right, we’re done!” Ripa announced on the May 5, 2025, episode of their talk show.
Consuelos shared that they connected with other parents at Joaquin’s graduation, noting, “What was interesting was that in talking to the other parents, we realized we weren’t alone. Because there’s a bunch of information that parents need. Like, what time is this? Where do you need to be?”
Ripa described the graduation as a multi-day celebration, starting with a Thursday night showcase at the University of Michigan’s theater department.
She proudly shared, “Here we are with Joaquin, who performed. He was incredible and amazing and we were very impressed.”
Their daughter Lola flew in from London to attend Joaquin’s performance, adding to the family’s joyous occasion.
The following day, Joaquin received his diploma from the school of drama, a milestone Ripa described as momentous.
Despite the celebration, Ripa jokingly remarked on a family photo, “We’re all just going through the motions at this point.”
She added, “Everybody’s sort of like, ‘Okay. Take the picture. Take the picture so we have a photo of Michael in one of the graduation photos.’”
